Last year, Black Muslim Forum, a Black rights-based organisation tackling anti-black racism in the Muslim community, conducted research on the problem of racism in the British Muslim community.

One hundred self-identified Black British Muslims were interviewed and asked to share their experiences of anti-black racism they face in the UK in both secular and religious environments. The main aim of the research was to primarily make the public and the ummah aware that the issue exists beyond deniability within the UK ummah. The secondary aim was to bring about action whereby the data would be used as a tool for grassroots change based on the suggestions of the participants.

The results

Overall the statistics were generally expected and unsurprising, however, some comments outlining the personal experiences of various participants were shocking. From some Black Muslims being told to pray at the back of the mosque to Black Muslim madrassah students having rocks thrown at them, we at Black Muslim Forum were stunned.

These were the statistics that came out of the study:

• 53.95% of participants felt that overall they generally did not belong to their local mosque
• 84% of participants felt that overall they did not belong to their university’s Islamic society
• 63.41% of participants felt that overall they did not belong to the UK Muslim community
• 48.98% of participants faced anti-black discrimination or colourism within a UK mosque or religious setting
• 36.36% of participants faced anti-black discrimination or colourism within a family setting in the UK
• 79% of participants faced anti-black discrimination or colourism within a secular setting in the UK
• 46 of the 100 participants could give a rough estimate of discrimination they had faced over the last year alone

In a nutshell over half of the Black Muslim participants felt they did not belong to the British Muslim community and over three-quarters of participants felt isolated from and disillusioned with their university’s Islamic society. Roughly 80% of participants faced discrimination in secular environments in the UK. This means that in both the Muslim and secular community, Black British Muslims felt targeted, were isolated and suffered both verbal and physical abuse for none other than the colour of their skin. 

Analysing the results

We split the data into two overarching rubrics: lived experiences and actions. Within the lived experiences rubric, there were four themes that kept cropping up; marriage, culture, anti-blackness and Mosque/madrassah.

Marriage

The preference for fair skin, finer hair and European features is a common reality within several Black and non-Black cultures, therefore many participants reported the internalised self-hatred amongst their Black family members as well as from external Arab and Asian cultures:

“My family and community consider calling someone “lighty” a term of endearment and a symbol of beauty. They add it to names like Sarah lighty etc and use it in place of darling or sweetheart etc.”

Many participants reported the issue of skin bleaching as a cultural manifestation as well as the result of pressures and expectations for marriage. For example, one participant reported “fairer brides being more acceptable and beautiful” as well as another being encouraged to bleach her skin and perm her hair.

Culture

The main cultural issue that arose from the data was the importing of the colourist model from some South Asian and Arab countries to the UK whereby it has been superimposed onto the Muslim community here- the Black Muslim community bearing the brunt of it. 

Secondly, some participants spoke about the dominance of some South Asian and Arab cultures whereby those ethnicities are interchangeably associated with being Muslim to the exclusion of Afro-Caribbean cultures- those latter cultures viewed as inherently haram (impermissible).

Anti-Blackness

Many respondents felt that the Ummah is not aware of the problem of anti-blackness in the community: a problem area that needs to be tackled. Participants reported experiencing anti-black racism within religious, family and secular settings. Reports of overt racism include being called a “nigger” being called “blick” and a “monkey”. Other subtle forms included being disregarded when speaking, being excluded and being stopped and searched by police.

Madrassah/Mosque

Participants mentioned several recurrent experiences. Being stared at in the mosque and made to feel self-conscious was an experience that cropped up several times. Participants also experienced derogatory comments within religious settings stereotyping Black people or insinuations that they were not Muslim. Many participants were assumed to be reverts because of their skin colour and received patronising praise over basic actions such as making wudhu. Some participants altogether avoided the mosque as they felt as though they were not welcome. Several participants reported the same experience of being bullied as children in Madrassah by both students and teachers because of their hair texture and the colour of their skin.

The second rubric was action. Question 7 specifically asked participants about their solution to the issue of racism and anti-blackness in the Muslim Ummah:

“What changes do you think need to be made in both secular and religious settings to combat the problem of anti-black racism and colourism in UK society?”

CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING

Source: www.amaliah.com

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Well, this was the subject I found myself in the middle of challenging as racism one night this week in the middle of Black History Month because of a group of Morris dancers in Lancashire called the Coconut Dancers stating blacking up is part of a tradition going back more than a hundred years for their group.  That may be the case, but where did that tradition come from before they started to use it. 

They have been kicked out of the national Joint Morris Organisation after the national body ruled the blackface practice has the potential to cause deep hurt and they refuse to stop doing it.  They have been backed by the Lancashire BME Network who say it is a cultural tradition linked to Lancashire and have since danced around the town of Bacup this month.  What a mockery! Despite their suggestion it is a long-standing tradition, wrapped up in its use for entertainment… …. blackface is still blackface. Should tradition still be upheld even if it’s considered offensive and racist?

This is what happens when you don’t know your black history, one of the many atrocities that white people imposed on black people that is either dressed up as something palpable like ‘tradition’ or forgotten about because we do not have black history embedded in the school curriculum.  In the spirit of being naive… … I would like to think its lack of knowledge.  Did Lancashire BME Network do their Black History homework?  What research did they do before they endorsed this offensive tradition and did any of their team bring their knowledge of Black history to the table?

So, what bothered me about this specifically.  The article took me right back to memories of the ‘black and white minstrels’ on TV as a kid, and all the negative pictures we see about black history, films like Birth of a Nation (1919) that revived the Ku Klux Klan by portraying blacked up white men as savages raping white women and the KKK as their heroes. The KKK actually based their future recruitment drive on this demonised, degrading version of black men.   The first appearance of Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse in 1929 was in blackface.  Shirley Temple even black faced in ‘The Little Rebel’ in 1935.  But more than the memories, it was the condescending way I was talked down to and my knowledge and experience rebutted by the white man I was communicating with and when proved wrong he just deleted the post.  Using the facts, I presented him with to dismiss my points, trying to break me down, suggesting there was no connection, and one was racist, and one was ‘tradition’. This made me wonder how many more people think this is ok and there is no connection. 

So, to understand this we need to go back to where the ‘tradition’ of ‘blackface’ originated.  It is deeply entrenched in centuries of racism. It dates back to centuries old European theatrical productions, most famously Shakespeare’s Othello.  The characters almost always portrayed negative stereotypes – the scary savage Black man, the rapist, and was used to belittle the culture of Africans and dehumanise them and still and always will be considered racist.  Taken to America by Europeans in the early 1800’s it was really propelled by Thomas Darthmouth Rice from New York, considered the father of American Minstelry who performed as the persona ‘Jim Crow’. A character so popular the segregation laws in America that remained until the Civil Rights movement of the 1960’s were also known as the Jim Crow laws and Americans and others still refer to black men as Jim Crow today.    

There are many places still doing black face.  There has been huge controversy in the Netherlands where Black Pete (Zwarte Piet), the ‘stupid black servant’ portrayed as part of their traditional Christmas celebrations, seen as an offensive relic of colonial times by anti-racism campaigners, has been ruled by a court in the Netherlands as a negative stereotype of Black people.  The Dutch Prime Minister who previously supported this tradition has had a radical change in attitude since Dutch protests triggered by the death of George Floyd.

Padstow Festival in Cornwall in 2019 also saw blackface dances.  People interviewed say this is not racist, and they truly believe this, but I suggest they do not know the origins of the tradition they are celebrating.  Many festivals who previously did this have now banned it, so why are others hanging on to it under the guise of ‘tradition’?

Then lets ‘back up’ to Bacup, a town in Rossendale and their 100-year-old tradition.  That takes us back to 1921. 

If you look hard enough the facts are there, trust me.  So, the Lancashire blackface tradition bears no resemblance to English Morris dancing or coal mining, rather the only connection with mining being that some of the those who took part in earlier times were miners.  It is convenient to say it is lost in ancient mystery, it’s folklore, it’s learnt from Moorish sailors. There is no evidence of it being learnt from Moorish sailors, and that is still a Black impersonation.  They call themselves the Coconut Dancers (The Nutters).  The Coconut dancer portrays the non-European ‘exotic’ – the fruit is from a foreign climate.  The blacked up faces suggest a link with African culture.  It is fact that coconuts and black face were a peculiarity of the Rossendale and Witworth District in the 19^th century.  It is fact that those districts press articles of the 1800’s refer to black face dancers as ‘niggers’.  Ignorance and bigotry at its finest.  The men performing the coconut dances in 1854 were rated in the press as ‘the best nigger dancers we have seen’ and ‘arrayed in nigger costume’.  It is believed that the practice of juvenile niggering which took place in those districts in the 1900’s evidences a direct link to coconut dancing because the boys involved went from practicing niggering to grown men doing it as coconut dancers.  The direct connection to niggering has been conveniently erased over the years.  Niggering in Rossendale for those who don’t know was a youth activity practiced by white boys who would blackface, wear stiped trousers, straw hats and identify themselves as niggers performing songs like ‘Oh Susannah’ and There Was A Little Nigger’.

I suggest we need to ‘back up’ from this nonsense and end this once and for all.  I’m with the national Joint Morris Organisation who did right to kick them out in my opinion. In the words of James Baldwin ‘I Am Not Your Negro’.  Don’t say I didn’t tell you so when we see a BLM March in Bacup.

So I leave you with a question.  After what you have read, is it ok in todays society to perpetuate ‘traditions’ steeped in racism like black face? 

Sonia Bassey, MBE

Communities Workstream Lead

Twitter: @SoniaBassey1

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The English premier league has also peaked across the Atlantic and wondered how the national sport can have only 1 winner every year (Superbowl) and those winners be called world champions, I mean who else does this grid Iron thing professionally? apart from North America and Canadian leagues? 

Enough of the nuances of both sports, the one concept that has sparked debate in both the halls of the FA and the chambers in the house of parliament is the controversial 2003 Rooney Rule.

“The Rooney Rule is a National Football League policy that requires league teams to interview ethnic-minority candidates for head coaching and senior football operation jobs. It is an example of affirmative action, even though there is no hiring quota or hiring preference given to minorities, only an interviewing quota. It was established in 2003, and variations of the rule are now in place in other industries.”(Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Associated Press. Retrieved September 15, 2007.)

To break this down further a person of ethnic minority must be considered for an interview for vacant head coach or senior executive roles in the NFL. There is not a requirement to hire said person, but provide the opportunity to be seen and interviewed. 

The stats portray that at its peak in 2006 22% of NFL head coaches were from Minority backgrounds from the original 6%. Fast forward 14 years 2020 saw 3 Afro American coaches out of 32 teams the same number as 2003 when the rule was first started. (Killion, Ann (January 8, 2020)

So, what has this got to do with the English premier league? 

The Rooney Rule was introduced in the football league in 2019. The Premier league opted against implementing the rule and perusing other anti-racism initiatives.

*In 2020 there were 6 black or non-white coaches out of the 92-team football pyramid*, considering 25% of the players in the premier league and football league are black, the numbers do not add up. (Rick Kelsey, June 2020 BBC Newsbeat) 

Let’s park the stats for a moment. Walk with me.

If I wanted to be a professional football player and I am from an Afro Caribbean background or mixed-race heritage I have hundreds of examples of players that have become household names from Rio Ferdinand, Ian Wright, Sol Campbell and Paul Ince to Raheem Sterling, Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka and Trent Alexander Arnold to name a few.

Managers on the other hand? Who could I reference as a main stream success that will inspire the next generation of managers, not players.

 On first glance the numbers are thin. Opportunity and ability need to be in the same room for black managers to really shine.  Some managers in my opinion had the ability but not the opportunity and others controversially may have had an opportunity but were lacking the raw ability. Without the prior experience, how do you get the experience? And if offered the chance to coach at the highest level who would really turn this down? Classic catch 22.

Darren Moore,  Hayden Mullins, Alex Dyer, Keith Curle, Patrick Viera, Nuno Espirito Santo and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink   are all black coaches and managers in the football league. The pressure is on to be the first  black manager to really pave the way for the next generation of young people who will confidently and  actively look to apply for these coaching  roles with knowledge and evidence  that it is possible to succeed.

The question is do we need the Rooney rule in the premier league to accelerate the work of the black managers in the football league?

It’s a close one…

We will have to go to the pitch side monitor. 

The post Why does the NFL Rooney Rule mean offside to the English Premier League? appeared first on Black Leaders.

Nah it’s just me….

Working in education every academic year has a pattern, enrolment, orientation, UCAS forms, Christmas, (weight gain) Mock exams, Double bank holidays, Easter, (chocolate) Exams, finance review, (get in shape) summer, & enrolment.  The circle of life as Mufasa said to Simba.  (one for the kids)

So being black in October has now become a thing, in-between orientation of new students and some thinking about UCAS applications we must recognise the impact of black people across the world.  The degree of recognition of black people during black history month has varied from

“Jerk Chicken with Mango salsa and rice with (wait for it) garden peas*, Steel pans and Hawaiian shirts, to a formal discussion about the impact of black British sports men and women and the emergence of pop culture from the black community.

From those extremes you can tell that there are gaps in the level of what is acceptable over the month of October.

Why October?

Let’s start at the beginning Black history month was originated in America in 1926 by American historian Carter G Woodson to celebrate the contributions of black Americans. The month was February as this coincided with the birthdays Abraham Lincoln and Fredrick Douglas

In 1987 Ghanaian born Akyaaba Addai Sebo founded the UK version and chose the month of October for 2 reasons

1. Traditionally African chiefs settled their differences in October
2. The beginning of the new academic year, October would give Black children a sense of pride and identity.” (The Barnet Group, n.d.)

Let us all focus on the last point, “give black children a sense of pride and identity” Now I get if you have never tried the wonders of Jerk Chicken and have never joined the debate of who makes the best Jollof Rice  ( Ghana or Nigeria) Ghana,  every time( that’s just me)  then the food discovery theme has a place in October if the traditions of the food is respected* see garden peas* (kidney beans, black eye peas)

Pride and identity are so powerful for all people but resonates with young people as they navigate who they are in society and where they fit in.

If we can help inspire a young black person to have a greater sense of pride, that people that look like them and sound like them can contribute to shaping this country and the world that we live in, we have truly embraced black history month.

So, if I am new to delivering materials for black history month and want avoid the Civil Rights Movement theme (which is incredibly relevant and poignant) or Apartheid South Africa which again holds relevance today, and shapes the thinking of modern Britain

I need to acknowledge black British history as British history and the fabric of this country is woven with the impact of black people through Arts, Academia, Health and Science. (to name a few) We need to acknowledge Black excellence in all walks of life as so much as been done in the past which has shaped our future.

When we acknowledge these everyday local heroes, we plant a seed of pride inside every young person who then grow to share their fruit of knowledge to their peers and the wider community, A true harvest of pride and identity.

  Ahhhh now that’s why its October…

**materials for Black History month can be found at the education toolkit Inclusive Education Toolkit – Black Leaders

Written by Marvin Smith Marvin Smith | LinkedIn

Black Leaders Core Team Member

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Research commissioned by People Like Us, a non-profit, also found that only 39% of UK professionals feel diversity and inclusion (D&I) is a higher priority in UK workplaces directly as a result of BLM.

Thousands of people around the world took to the streets last year to protest against racism and to show unprecedented support of the BLM movement. In response, companies received fierce public backlash for saying that ‘Black Lives Matter,’ having seemingly not shown true commitment to fighting racial injustice.

Following that, companies across the world pledged money, launched programmes, and assessed what they need to do to bring about change. For instance, Citi (C) pledged $1bn (£790m) to battle racial inequality.

New data shows just 13% of people in the UK said their company actually hired more employees from BAME backgrounds and almost three in 10 (29%) employees said their company didn’t do anything in response to Black Lives Matter.

Meanwhile, two-thirds (67%) of London professionals say they feel D&I are a higher priority for their company now, but workers outside of London are over three times more likely to say that their workplace had done nothing in response to BLM.

Whilst almost half (49%) of working professionals feel a positive impact has been made in the workplace, “there is clearly much more work to be done,” the report said.

Continue Reading

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The problem

Employers struggle to fill almost 1 in 4 job vacancies due to skills shortages.

At the same time, there are high unemployment rates amongst some talented groups of young people. Young black men have consistently experienced more unemployment than young men of other ethnicities.

In London in 2013, the employment rate for young black men was just 56%, compared to 81% for young white men.

Though this disparity improved over the next two years, it has stagnated since March 2016. This disparity does not just reflect educational differences between the two groups – in 2015, young black graduates were more than twice as likely to be unemployed than young white graduates one year after graduating (9.7% vs 4.6%).

The MoU Initiative aimed both to directly increase the employment rate amongst young black men in London through supporting targeted interventions; and to generate learning that could influence employers, mainstream employment support providers and funders/commissioners.

The results

There were a number of positive outcomes from the Initiative:

271 young black men are known to be in paid work following their participation in MoU.

This equates to a job entry rate of 40-60%. This finding is based on having data for 66% of the 683 participants that took part in MoU, so the real figure across 100% of participants is likely to be somewhere between 271 and 410.

MoU had the biggest impact on participants’ attitude, confidence and understanding of work.

Whilst some improvement was seen in career direction and more practical job application skills, survey and interview data indicates that MoU’s impact was driven more by psychological outcomes – with young black men being more motivated, confident, and aware of what employers are looking for.

The thing that MoU participants valued most about the projects was that the staff cared.

Participants consistently appreciated, at times effusively, that the project staff always gave them their time, showed a genuine interest in their success and wellbeing, and never gave up on them.

MoU participants also appreciated when the projects were targeted and tailored to young black men.

Many interviewees said they felt empowered by people caring about young black men as a group.

The MoU Initiative has been able to raise awareness among policymakers of the issue of young black male unemployment.

A London Advisory Group was established and received good engagement from the DWP, Jobcentre Plus and the Greater London Authority, among others. Damian Hinds, Minister of State for Work and Pensions, visited the MoU Initiative in 2016, and there are ongoing conversations with DWP about learning from MoU’s targeted approach to supporting young black men.

However, the research showed that some key barriers remain:

“Employers struggle to fill almost 1 in 4 job vacancies due to skills shortages. At the same time, there is an untapped talented pool of young people who are ready and keen to work. The unemployment rate for young black men is double the rate for young white men, even when they have the same level of qualifications. Thousands of young black men in London are available for and actively looking for work. That is not an impossible problem to solve. If employers, job centres, support providers and young black men pull together, we can end this inequality.”Bharat Mehta CBE, Chief Executive of Trust for London

Engaging employers is a key challenge.

MoU-commissioned research by YouGov (2016) suggested that there is a need to raise awareness amongst employers about opportunities for young black men – as they were not top of mind for most.

Young black men have to deal with barriers which are additional to those facing other young people trying to find jobs.

Three-quarters of the project participants interviewed for this evaluation believe that as young black men they need to work harder than other young people to get a job.

MoU participants had high aspirations to begin with.

Lower aspiration is often identified as a key barrier to young people gaining employment, but MoU survey data showed that these young men had very high aspirations to begin with.

Social capital is still a key area of disadvantage.

In stark contrast to aspiration, participants scored lowest on baseline survey questions relating to social capital. These questions focused on using personal relationships to find work. This was also the only outcome not to improve at follow-up. Clearly this is an area that may need more intense, targeted support.

MoU participants had consistently negative views of Jobcentre Plus.

The participants’ positive views on project staff stood in contrast with their views of support from the Jobcentre Plus (JCP). 50% of survey respondents rated the value of JCP support as 1 on a scale of 1-5. They felt staff didn’t care about helping them, the sanctions are unfairly punitive and the job application targets are unrealistic and unhelpful.

What needs to happen next

This evaluation shows that what works to support young black men into decent jobs are locally developed, community-based services which are targeted at young black men and tailored to meet their needs, delivered by advisers who give them time and commitment. Peer group work and direct contact with employers are also factors for success.

The unemployment rate for young black men is double the rate for young white men, even when they have the same level of qualifications. There are thousands of young black men in London who are available for and actively looking for work. However, it is not an impossible problem to solve. If employers, job centres, support providers and young black men pull together, we can end this inequality.

Source – Trust for London – Employment initiative helps 100s of young black men in London | Trust for London

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Natalie Duvall and Alison Burton launched March Muses to help make the festive season more inclusive for Black families, and they hope that their new advert will reinforce this message.

The advert shows Natalie’s daughter Olivia, looking at her family’s traditional Christmas decorations before asking her mum if Santa is white.

The founders hope that by presenting this alternative version of a festive ad, it will help other families to tackle the topic of race with their children, and question these things themselves.

Natalie and Alison say their decorations showcase a side of Christmas that is rarely seen, and they hope to present diverse images of Christmas as normal, not just a novelty.

‘2020 has highlighted the many issues faced by the black community. With more than three million people of colour in the UK, our Black Christmas tree decorations represent inclusion at a time when we need it most,’ says Natalie. The pair say they weren’t surprised to see that Christmas adverts that featured divers

‘We are happy to see Sainsburys and any other brand encouraging a more inclusive Christmas through their advertising, but more needs to be done,’ says Alison. ‘Our advert should be on TV also to really drive home the messaging of an diverse Christmas.’

‘Black is not a trend,’ says Natalie. ‘What will their advertising look like in April next year? We do want to encourage brands to go beyond just media representations and consider how inclusive their products are and what their leadership level roles look like. ‘There is a severe lack of diversity in the supermarket decorations, we hope we can start a conversation with them.’

The advert was produced by a creative agency of three brothers, 10 Days, and the entire campaign was completed within one week and donated completely free of charge to March Muses.

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Their latest event, in honour of Black History Month, will see them partner with Auto Trader UK and Inclusive Companies to delve into various aspects of Black History through time. Over one thousand people are expected to attend the virtual event on Thursday 22^nd October at 10.00am.

Auto Trader UK are passionate advocates of the diversity agenda and have been working closely with Black Leaders to deliver change. Christos Tsaprounis, Head of People & Culture & Auto Trader UK, said:

“Black inclusion is a priority for our business throughout the year, but every October gives us the opportunity to connect and amplify the voices of black leaders as well as allies. The presenters and panelists represent different sectors and industries, but all share a genuine desire to make a difference to black inclusion in the UK.”

Paul Sesay, Founder & CEO of Black Leaders has been working tirelessly to set a course for a better, more inclusive future during a time when our society has never been more divisive.

Paul said: “People across all walks of life are awakening to the inequities that have existed and persisted around them for so long, and are asking many questions. During this virtual event we hope to bring people together, educate and celebrate, and launch groundbreaking initiatives to tackle systematic barriers”.

Paul will be joined by Aggie Mutuma, Inclusion Expert & Co-Founder of Black Leaders, to deliver the ‘future’ aspect of the session, and unveil Black Inclusion Week, Black Inclusion Index, and a pioneering Empowerment Leadership Programme for communities.

Hosted by Simon Hosannah, Client Development Direct at Auto Trader, the webinar will also feature powerful keynote speakers from various backgrounds who will share their journeys and provide insight in Black Inclusion. Renowned community historian, writer and broadcaster Laurence Westgaph will focus on the past and explore the forgotten stories of some of the UK’s most influential black people.

Rob Neil OBE, Head of culture Change & Leadership, Department for Education, said: “I once heard Nelson Mandela explain that “winning his battles made him stronger and sharing OUR stories makes US wiser”, Thursday’s Black Leaders event is an opportunity for us to share multiple stories.”

Rob will be joined by Nathan Coe, CEO, Auto Trader Group, Samantha Budd FRSA, Director of National Union of Students UK (interim), Sonia Watson OBE, CEO, Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust and Marvin Smith, Business Development Education Leader to discuss some of the issues in the UK which prompted so many to react to recent events.

‘Black Inclusion: Past, Present & Future’ is FREE to attend. To register, please visit: https://blackleaders.co.uk/blackinclusion/

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• Video report by ITV News Correspondent Neil Connery

ITV News has been highlighting the stories of the people forging real change in our world during Black History Month.

They’re the trailblazers building a legacy of fairness across our nation.

ITV News Correspondent Neil Connery has heard from Paul Sesay – who founded the National Diversity Awards, which honours individuals, charities and role models for enhancing diversity.

Mr Sesay said: “I arrived as a 19-year-old lost individual that had nobody around me, now I have a family, I’ve got a business, I’ve got an amazing opportunity to make a difference to many people in the UK and around the world.”

Mr Sesay, who grew up in foster care in the 1970s, said his childhood made him passionate about tackling racism.

He said: “When you have that rejection from the minute you was born, and then you went to other foster families in the 70s and 80s, who were very racist or abusive, because of your colour.

“And then you go to school and you’re getting kicked because your black and you want to rub your skin because you’re sitting there, because you want to be white, because everyone is picking on me cause of my colour.”

He has a clear message in his efforts to change attitudes: “I want to see equality, we shouldn’t be having these conversations in 2020, going into 2021.”

CLICK HERE to continue reading

Source: www.itv.com

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Black Leaders are proud to partner with Auto Trader UK to deliver a thought-provoking virtual event for Black History Month centered around Black Inclusion: Past, Present & Future. Auto Trader UK is the official #1 site to buy and sell vehicles and are passionate advocates of the diversity agenda. As part of their strategy they have been working alongside Inclusive Companies and Black Leaders to lead in the campaign for pioneering change and moving closer to creating an inclusive society. Featuring keynote speakers, a panel session and the official launch of the Black Inclusion Index, this event will not only celebrate Black History but delve into various aspects of Black History through time, looking at where we have been, where we are now, and where are we going?

GUEST SPEAKERS INCLUDE…

If you have not yet secured your virtual seat, be sure not to miss out by registering today! Date: Thursday 22nd October 2020 Time: 10.00 – 12.00 BST Registration: please register by going to https://blackleaders.co.uk/blackinclusion/

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